Christopher Corbould has been cleared over the death of Conway Wickliffe, who died on the set of The Dark Knight in 2007. Photograph: Stephen Vaughan/Warner Bros

An Oscar-winning special effects expert has been cleared of health and safety breaches over the death of a cameraman who was killed during the filming of Batman film The Dark Knight.

New Zealand-born Conway Wickliffe, 41, died when the 4x4 he was travelling in hit a tree during filming at an industrial site near Chertsey, Surrey, on 24 September 2007. He was shooting out of the window from the back seat with a handheld camera and was not wearing a seatbelt.

Jurors took less than two hours to unanimously find Christopher Corbould, 53, of Bookham, Surrey not guilty of failing to ensure Wickliffe's safety. Corbould won the Academy Award earlier this month for his special effects work on Inception, the latest film from the director of The Dark Knight, Christopher Nolan.

During the trial at Guildford crown court, Corbould told jurors he had followed safety procedures correctly for the Chertsey shoot, which followed on from earlier work in Chicago. He said he had informed crew members, including Wickliffe, of every detail of the stunt, which involved a vehicle going up a ramp and flipping over.

"It's thoroughly explained to them before," he said. "I would never put someone in the position where they didn't know every single detail of what's going on. That's inconceivable."

Wickliffe, a father of two, was pronounced dead at the scene after suffering severe head injuries. The 4x4 failed to make a left turn and collided with the tree, the court heard. An inquest hearing in Woking in November 2008 had already ruled Wickliffe's death was an accident.